Posts Tagged ‘Permanent Residency’

A proposed Trump administration change to the “public charge” regulations, expected to be issued within the next few months, will dramatically alter the process for how Immigration Officers determine eligibility for citizenship or permanent residency. USCIS designates an applicant as a “public charge” if they are likely to become predominantly dependent on government benefits for long term survival. Currently, USCIS Officers focus on the petitioning sponsor’s income (or a cosponsor’s income if the petitioner’s income falls below the required amount) in assessing eligibility. Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act currently allows USCIS to deem a permanent residency applicant ineligible if they are likely at any time to become a “public charge.” Although the current regulation appears to afford an Immigration Officer considerable discretion in assessing an Applicant’s public charge prospects, in practice there is virtually no discretion. In other words, if the petitioner or the co-sponsor’s current income satisfies the affidavit of support, then USCIS will typically have no justifiable basis to deny an application on public charge grounds.

The new regulations would substantially redefine “public charge” criteria by creating new grounds of ineligibility if the foreign national (or immediate family members) ever obtained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or signed up for supplemental assistance programs for financial and/or nutritional assistance for their U.S. citizen children. Moving forward, USCIS Officers will be allowed to analyze a foreign national applicant’s income, employment history, job skills, health status, assets, and any family history of having received public health benefits (no matter if they were legally entitled to receive such benefits). This new approach will dramatically expand USCIS authority to deny a case based on the arbitrary whims of an Officer who looks unfavorably on an applicant’s job history or the amount of money they have saved in the bank.

At this point it is unknown whether there will be different public charge standards for permanent residency or citizenship applicants. Regardless, FMG Immigration Attorneys fully expect that federal litigation will ensue once USCIS attempts to implement the new public charge regulations.

For additional information related to this topic and for advice regarding how to navigate U.S. immigration laws you may contact Kenneth Levine of the law firm of Freeman, Mathis & Gary, LLP at (770-551-2700) or [email protected].

This past week the Department of Homeland Security announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for citizens of El Salvador. DHS reports that there are approximately 200,000 El Salvadoran citizens living and working in the United States. TPS designation for El Salvador will officially terminate on September 9, 2019. USCIS has publicly stated that if TPS recipients are unable to obtain green cards or acquire a different legal status prior to that date, then they will be placed into deportation proceedings.

While the general public may perceive the USCIS advisory to “obtain a green card or seek a change of status to a different visa category” to be an easily attainable option, the reality is far different. TPS recipients must still fully satisfy strict legal criteria to qualify for those options. For the vast majority of TPS recipients, this will prove exceedingly difficult to achieve.

FMG Immigration Attorneys are currently engaged in assessing whether any of our TPS clientele from El Salvador qualify for permanent residency or a different visa category. It is important to note that for those who do not qualify, legal options may be available in the context of deportation proceedings. It is anticipated that this current administration will continue to terminate TPS designations for countries remaining in the TPS program. Therefore, it is critically important that all TPS recipients promptly seek legal advice from experienced immigration counsel to assess their legal options.

DACA

Another significant development in the immigration field occurred on January 9th when U.S. District Judge William Alsup issued an injunction against the current administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This program was scheduled to end on March 5th. For now, DHS must accept DACA renewal applications. It is anticipated that the court’s injunction will be promptly appealed and therefore it is entirely uncertain how long the injunction will remain in place. For now, FMG Immigration Attorneys strongly recommend that all DACA recipients who otherwise would be eligible to renew their status do so as soon as possible.

For additional information related to this topic and for advice regarding how to navigate U.S. immigration laws you may contact Kenneth S. Levine of the law firm of Freeman, Mathis & Gary, LLP at (770-551-2700) or [email protected].

For the last several years the EB-5 Green Card program has been widely touted as a relatively quick and direct path to obtaining U.S. Permanent Residency. The program, which grants permanent residency based on a $500,000 minimum investment in USCIS approved regional center projects, has been especially popular in China. According to a CNBC article from April 2017, USCIS estimated that Chinese citizens represented 85% of all Applicants in the EB-5 Program. News interviews with Chinese EB-5 Applicants reveal that, for the vast majority, their prime motivation to invest in the program was based on a desire to permanently settle their children in the U.S. Aggressive efforts to attract Chinese EB-5 Investors gave rise to a cottage industry of EB-5 agents and financial advisors in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Every year the United States makes available the same number of green cards to every country in the world, regardless of the size of their population. When more green card applications from one country are submitted than there are visas made available for that year, a green card backlog results. For example, the State Department is processing EB-5 green cards only for Chinese Applicants who submitted their applications prior to July 1, 2014.

Based on mainstream media reports, the EB-5 backlog for China has resulted in diminished interest in the program among Chinese citizens. Due to the quota backlog, green card cases may not be processed before the children of Chinese Applicants turn 21. That is the key concern for Applicants, because under the Immigration and Nationality Act, once a child turns 21, they are no longer eligible to act as dependents on green card cases filed by their parents. Accordingly, Chinese Investors are beginning to turn their attention to immigrant investor programs in Canada and Australia as a backup option to permanently settle their children.

If Applications from Chinese citizens begin to dwindle then less investment capital will be available to fund new or ongoing EB-5 regional center projects, directly translating into reduced jobs for U.S. workers. Unless Congress is willing to pursue a legislative fix to this issue, it may be difficult if not impossible to replicate that same level of EB5 interest from other countries.

For additional information related to this topic and for advice regarding how to navigate U.S. immigration laws you may contact Kenneth S. Levine of the law firm of Freeman, Mathis & Gary, LLP at (770-551-2700) or [email protected].